Helljumper
by Valres
Summary: Jaune Arc had to prove himself. Sure, he didn't look like much, but at this point, he was the best they had. War with the Grimm was costly in Lien, but even more in lives. Jaune found himself on a team of Helljumpers – a team of replacements, just like him. They were diving head first into a war zone. They could only pray they made it out alive.
1. Prologue

**Well, well, well. This is the story y'all voted for, and here it is. Helljumper.**

**More information in the bottom AN.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

[Prologue]

Beta: Engineer1869

**Jason Arc's PoV**

Ansel.

It was a sleepy little town, way out in the middle of what was formerly the Valean countryside. I had grown up here, free from the worries and threats of the outside world. It always seemed as though this place were just… separated from it all. Sectioned off from the world at large, impervious to the problems that raged around us.

That was until Atlas attacked.

The world as I knew it was turned upside down. The once sleepy village of Ansel was descended upon by a swarm of soldiers representing Vale, here to take every man and woman capable of fighting. I was among the number that they conscripted.

To say that they trained me at all would be generous. In truth, they did what they could with such little time. We had our Auras unlocked and were taught how to shoot and reload our rifles, and that's about it. Before any of us had a chance to figure out which way was up in this new world that had thrown us to the wolves, we were dropped into the middle of a warzone.

I can still remember clearly the absolute terror that showed plain as day on all my friends' faces. Young and old alike – none of us were soldiers. Not really. That didn't stop me, though. This wasn't going to be where I died. I still had a life to live – things I wanted to do, places I wanted to go. And so, I fought. I gave it everything I had, not giving up even when we were so outclassed that it seemed pointless.

I was captured during my first battle.

The Atlesian War of Unification, as it would later be dubbed, was a short, but bloody affair. While calling the former Kingdom of Vale weak would make you a liar, it utterly failed to stand up to Atlas in any incredibly significant way. Vale crumbled within six months, with Vacuo and Mistral following suit not long after.

To say I was loyal to Atlas wouldn't be completely true, but I was among the few who was offered the chance to join a new program they were developing: the Helljumpers. Allegedly, it was a more elite band of soldiers. While it wasn't the mythical HUNTER program that I'd heard whispers of, it was still an opportunity that had presented itself to me.

Without hesitation, I signed on to join the first generation of Helljumpers.

After training, I took a role in the reserves, returning to my home. I settled down, and life was good. I had a loving wife, and more children than I could count on one hand. Life seemed perfect, here in our own little world.

It didn't last.

For the second time in my life, the sleepy little haven that was Ansel came under siege. This time, by Atlas soldiers. They had come, again to take all those who could fight against a new, unknown threat. A threat they had called the Grimm.

I spent years away from my family, fighting these creatures of darkness. Time and time again, I was dropped from Airships to help break a siege, to secure a VIP, or even to help evacuate civilians. It was a harsh time – a time that always left me wondering after my family, only able to hope that they all were safe back home.

Atlas had begun spreading this HUNTER program far and wide, searching for every last child with a Semblance. For lack of a better term, I'd simply call them magic. They claim that it's some sort of extension of one's Aura, helping the wielder become some kind of great and powerful soldier capable of things the rest of us could only dream of.

As of now, all of my children were deemed to not be eligible for the HUNTER program, with my only son, Jaune, left to be tested. I didn't see a point in it, if none of his siblings have a Semblance, how would he? Regardless, Atlas insisted that on a child's eighth birthday, they are tested.

I was lucky. My name was drawn from the lottery system, and I was allowed to spend a week on leave. Like most of my friends and compatriots, I went home.

Ansel.

Even now, it seemed completely impervious and uncaring to the outside world and the fights that raged in it. The Grimm, Atlas, Helljumpers, and HUNTERS. They were all just stories that they heard about, but never saw. It was serene.

I returned home, greeted by a swarm of happy children, crying and jumping at me. Children I hadn't seen in years but missed greatly. Behind them, my loving wife smiling wide, tears starting to well up in her eyes, too.

The first day was a rush of questions. Questions about where I was, what I was doing, and if I was a hero. I watered down the horrors of war, telling my family what I could without striking the fear of god into them.

The second day was calm. I spent as much of it as I could with my family – simply wanting nothing more than to see my kids happy and smiling.

The third day dawned.

[-/-]

Fire. Chaos. Death.

"Jaune. We've got to go. Now." I called out to the terrified boy.

"B-but…" He managed to get out, cowering in fear behind one of the chairs outside our family home.

As soon as the Grimm arrived, I armed myself with the weapons I had stashed in the house. While hardly an armory, it was enough to give me some minor degree of safety.

I shot a glance back over my shoulder, barely catching sight of a Nevermore as it started to race down towards the two of us.

I spun, unholstering the pistol that was at my hip, and firing off three rounds into the creature, sending it tumbling end over end out of the sky. Behind me, Jaune yelped with each bullet fired.

I don't have time for this. I thought to myself, turning and storming over to my son. "Stay close to me, alright?" I tried, grabbing him by the arm to pull him up to his feet.

"I'm scared…" He voiced, looking incredibly small.

I nodded, looking back over the burning town of Ansel. "So am I, son." I looked back to him. "But I've got to be brave, same as you. Just stay close to me, and it'll all be okay."

He didn't respond, only going so far as to nod a few times.

I didn't waste any more time. I turned and started jogging off towards the forest. While it hurt like all hell to abandon this place, to leave without knowing the fate of the rest of my family, to try and find out would be to doom myself and my son to an early grave.

I offered a glance over my shoulder, seeing that Jaune was trying his best to keep up with me, but was clearly starting to slow. Behind him, a gristly blackened form came into view. An Ursa. To call it a bear wouldn't be completely true, nor inaccurate. It at the least had the shape of one.

I skidded to a halt as the creature started rushing forward, intent on turning the two of us into a stain on the forest floor. I brought my rifle up to my shoulder and took aim down sights, squeezing off three rounds in quick succession.

Jaune screamed and threw himself to the floor, hands over his head in a vain attempt to protect himself.

The Ursa took the bullets in stride and kept on with its charge, hardly seeming phased by the rounds as they dug into the black mass of a body.

I fired off another three rounds, each of which embedded themselves in the creature's head. It stumbled only slightly before powering onward. What the hell is this thing made of? I had to wonder. Normally, minor Ursa would keel over dead after a shot like that.

As it grew closer, I noticed something. It had something dangling off its neck. What it was, I couldn't exactly say, but it wasn't part of the creature.

I dropped the rifle and ripped the short sword from its sheath at my hip. The Ursa came crashing into me, ignoring the cowering Jaune who had scrambled away when he realized he was in the path of the beast.

It's got to be an Alpha. Fantastic. I thought darkly as it brought one of its massive paws to bear against my unarmored chest. If not for Aura, I'd have been eviscerated on the spot, though that didn't stop me feeling the rush of pain.

I grit my teeth and brought the sword around, trying desperately to get it through the creature's neck. It brought the other paw to bear, slamming it down on my shoulder to rip a significant hole in my Aura.

The blade found its mark, slipping into the black flesh of the Ursa's neck. I wasted no time in ripping the blade across, effectively severing the head off the beast, leaving it to crumple to the ground, inert and dead.

I took a moment to catch my breath, gritting my teeth through the pain that the creature had caused me.

As was normal for the Grimm, its body dissipated into a black smoke. The only thing it left behind was a small totem hanging off a black cord. The totem was carved into the shape of some sort of serpent with wings that had curled in on itself, jaws open wide like it were going to bite something.

I shook my head, pocketing the strange item. If nothing else, I'm sure command would be interested in it.

I scanned the area, finding that Jaune had crawled away, and was now trying to hide himself rather poorly in some bushes.

I didn't waste any time. I pulled my son out of his hiding spot. He was wide eyed and a little scratched up but looked to be mostly unharmed. Coming from the direction of the village, I could hear something akin to a howl and several branches crunching as more creatures of darkness started to rush into the forest after us.

"Hop on, son." I said, crouching down with my back to him. He didn't hesitate, wrapping his arms around my neck and holding on for dear life. I heaved myself up to my feet and got comfortable with his legs sitting on my arms. It didn't leave me in the best way to fight, but I could properly start running at the least.

I wasn't about to wait around for the Grimm to find us. I sheathed the sword and snagged my dropped rifle as I broke into a sprint through the forest. Jaune, normally so happy and carefree would've been laughing and shouting for me to go faster. Now, he was shaking like a leaf, face buried into the back of my neck.

Behind us, I could hear the Grimm still. They were slowly gaining on us.

I can't outrun them, not through this thick of vegetation. I thought to myself. After the number that Ursa did on me, I'm not even sure I'd be able to fight them off either.

I swallowed nervously, sparing a glance back over my shoulder as we got into a clearing. I couldn't yet see the Grimm. My gaze traced to the form of my son, gripping on to me for dear life.

I pursed my lips, slowing to a complete stop at the edge of the clearing.

"Jaune, I'm going to put you down now." I warned him, crouching down to let him off. The boy reluctantly let go, looking up at me, the fear more than evident in his eyes.

There was another howl, and it was closing in on our position. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Listen, son. You've got to keep going. Keep running that direction." I paused for a brief moment, racking my brain.

There was another town nearby. It was a fair bit bigger – even had small walls around it. They might have a detachment of soldiers there to protect the place. Glynda will be there, too. She'll take care of him and get word out.

"There's a town not far from here, just a little way through the forest." I explained slowly, glancing up towards the other side of the clearing. The Grimm weren't here yet. I pursed my lips, looking back to my son. "When you get there, ask for Ms. Goodwitch. "

Jaune frowned. "Where will you be?"

I bit down on my tongue. "I'll be right behind you, son. You should just get a head start…" I looked up, noting the first of the Grimm starting to prowl into the small clearing. "Now, go. Don't look back – don't wait for me. Just keep running." I managed a small smile, coming up to my feet once again. "I'll be right behind you. Promise."

Jaune nodded, not looking too sure, but he knew better than to argue with me.

I watched as he disappeared into the forest. I could only hope that I hadn't doomed him to die alone in there, mauled to death by Grimm, or lost and confused.

I let out a long sigh, turning to face the Grimm that were gathering in greater number at the other edge of the clearing.

I shouldered my rifle. "Here we go. Feet first into Hell."

* * *

**Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Helljumper.**

**For anyone who's new here, this is not your typical RWBYverse. This story is taking a lot of inspiration from Halo, most notably Halo 3 ODST. Everything will be in the first person, but we will have multiple PoVs throughout the story, focusing on our team of main characters. Next time this is published, we'll be seeing from Jaune's PoV sometime in the future.**

**For those who are curious, this is about the length that the chapters will be. For the most part, no greater than 3k words. The story, once in full swing, will be published on the same time frame as Criminally Good was.**

**And of course, we now have a wonderful Beta for this story. Good guy Engineer has been a great help thus far, helping me expand the world and make it all that much deeper and more fleshed out rather than just a loose collection of ideas.**

**Last thing, I won't be responding to reviews this time around. While a great thing and fun in CG, it's definitely inflated the story's word count by a solid 50k words. Sorry, friends.**

**Next Chapter: Coming Soon**

**Till next time, this is Valres signing off.**


	2. Chapter 1

[Chapter 1]

Beta: Engineer1869

Jaune Arc's PoV

* * *

I wasn't prepared.

Sure, just like everyone else in my generation, I had been put through basic training. I had my Aura unlocked, I was taught to shoot a gun, and to follow orders without question.

Hell, I wasn't even the bottom of the barrel. While nothing exceptional to write home about, I tested well enough to be considered for the Helljumper program. Think specialists that focus entirely on encircled combat.

Despite that, though, I was sent home as a reservist. Something about not needing me at that moment. I knew better. This wasn't a war we were winning by any stretch of the imagination. Constantly losing ground to these infernal Grimm. Atlas needed every last soldier they could get on the front lines – I shouldn't have been an exception.

Yet, I was, thanks to the General.

General James Ironwood, or as I better knew him, Uncle Ironwood. He was the man in charge of Atlas' armed forces. What exactly his job was wasn't completely clear to me. He didn't command forces directly, but rather he commanded the generals, or something like that. All I really knew was that he was as high up the food chain as it went.

He was incredibly stubborn and bullheaded – always convinced that his way was the right way, and that there was no other path. It was a wonder that with as brash as he is, he's maintained his role as the General of all the armed forces of Atlas.

Or, it would be if I didn't know the truth.

Glynda Goodwitch, better known to me as Aunt Goodwitch. The woman was rather impressive – stern enough to make even Ironwood cower in fear, yet more than capable of being gentle and caring as well. In truth, it was a strange oxymoron sort of thing.

With her at his side, Ironwood proved to be more levelheaded and calmer than he naturally was. Not to mention, they were happy. They made me who I am today.

It was because of them that I was only now being shipped off to enlist properly.

The draft paper had been personally hand delivered to me by Ironwood. Despite trying not to show it, the poor man looked like he hated what he was about to do. He hated the thought of sending me into danger, which I might not come back. His composure never broke but truthfully, I think he took it harder than I did, viewing it as personal failure.

Now, here I was. Sat in a Bullhead that was packed to the brim with replacement Helljumpers. Each and every one of us was a replacement for someone who had died in the field. For all we knew, we could be forming entirely new teams of just us replacements.

It was no secret that this was a dangerous line of work. It was far riskier than being your average grunt. Where they were digging trenches in the streets and fields, we were dropped miles deep behind Grimm territory and told to complete our objective above all else.

I leaned back against the wall of the Bullhead and closed my eyes, drumming my fingers lightly against my knee. I was nervous, not a trait unique to me. I'm sure each of us in the Bullhead was the same way. None of us knew if we'd even be able to go home again, if we'd see our families again.

The Bullhead touched down, and we all rose. It was mechanical, each of us resigned to what was coming. If the veterans and the first picks for this program were dead, what chance did we stand? We filed out into the compound, the afternoon sun beating down on us like a hammer against red hot steel.

Stood on a crate that gave him enough height to look over those of us was a stout and rather rotund man. "Good Afternoon, men." He called out from behind his bushy gray mustache. "I am Colonel Port. Welcome to Patch." He paused ever so briefly, looking over each of us for a moment. "Each of you are some of Atlas' best and brightest. Those who tested well above average and have qualified yourselves for the prestigious Helljumper program."

He cleared his throat, not noting that most of his captive audience weren't particularly listening.

After a few minutes of him giving what was probably supposed to be a rousing speech, and some halfhearted clapping from us, he got to business. "Now, as I'm sure you are all aware, you are to function as members of a team. When I call your name, please step up to the front."

After a few moments, my name was called. "Jaune Arc, Cardin Winchester, and Sun Wukong." The three of us in question all pushed through the thinned crowd towards the front to stand just in front of Port.

The first man, Cardin I'd assume, was immense. He stood a fair bit taller than me, and looked to be all muscle. He had burnt orange hair that was swept up in a style I didn't quite recognize, but generally chose to ignore. He had a self-assured smile on his lips as he rocked back on his heels, arms crossed over his chest.

The second man was Sun Wukong, presumably. I well could've gotten them mixed up. Sun looked far more approachable to me. He was slim, and right around my height as best I could tell. Like me, he had blond hair that looked like it hadn't been brushed since he was a kid. He had an easy-going grin and offered Cardin and I a wave as he approached. The other thing that stood out about him was a long monkey's tail, blond as his hair.

"I introduce you to your commanding officer, Qrow Branwen." Port said, sweeping a hand wide. The three of us tracked his motion to our new commander.

Qrow was a tall man as well – funny how that describes the whole team. Unlike Cardin, though, he was rather slim. His hair was shaggy and dark black that had only a few streaks of grey starting to show through. Unlike the three of us who were in civilian clothes, he was dressed in a military uniform. Like everything from Atlas, it was pristine white all the way around. On it, he was adorned with a plethora of ribbons and even a few medals. He was quite the distinguished man, it seemed.

He took a moment to survey each of us with a critical eye, nodding subtly to himself. "Right. Well, like old Pete there said, the name's Qrow." He saw each of us snap to a salute, and rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively. "Cut that out." None of us moved, and he sighed. "At ease." The three of us relaxed. "Like I was saying, no need for that shit. No saluting me, no calling me sir, none of it. Far as I'm concerned, we're equals. Got it?"

I nodded, as did Sun.

Cardin sneered, offering only a slight glare at Sun. "Not sure I'd call us equal."

Before Cardin had a chance to breathe, he found a pistol put against his head. "We're all equals here. I won't stand for you pissing about because your new bunkmate is a Faunus. We've got bigger problems." Qrow growled out. "Am I understood?"

Cardin looked like he'd had the shit scared out of him, and I can't say I blamed him. He nodded timidly. "Yeah… Loud and clear."

Qrow nodded, pulling the pistol away from Cardin's head and holstering it again. "Now that we've settled that, let's go. Doubt you're wanting to stand in the heat all day." He said, turning on a heel and walking deeper into the base. Cardin kept to himself, ahead of the two of us.

Sun and I shared a glance. He shrugged, pushing forward. "Well, that was quite the show, yeah?" He asked, not sounding dissuaded at all.

I fell into step next to him. "That's one way of putting it." I hummed for a moment. "Oh, the name's Jaune, by the way." I said, holding a hand out to the monkey Faunus.

Sun grinned, offering a firm handshake in return. "Sun. Nice to meet ya'."

In front of us, Cardin scoffed. "Making friends with the animal already." He muttered.

"Listen, man. I don't know what your problem is, but like Qrow said. Put it aside – we've got more important shit to do than fight amongst ourselves." Sun said.

Cardin hummed. "Maybe you're right." He glared back over his shoulder at Sun. "But I'm watching you." He looked over to me. "I'd keep my distance, bud. Never know what they're gonna do."

"Do I hear a problem back there?" Qrow called over his shoulder.

"Nope, all's well back here." I called out in response. That seemed to be enough for Qrow as he didn't ask again.

The rest of the walk was quiet. The three of us followed behind Qrow to our bunks.

It was a small room that had four beds spread out evenly across the back wall. There was one in the right corner that was clearly lived in, and belonged to Qrow. "Right, well, this is home for the time being. Settle in, get comfortable, whatever else." He pulled out his scroll and glanced down at the time. "I've got a meeting with the higherups." He looked between the three of us. "Now, play nice, kids. I'll be back soon."

Qrow slipped out of the room, and Cardin instantly went for the bed in the other corner, staking his claim as such. I ended up between Cardin and Sun, considering that would probably be bad juju to have them right next to each other.

I sat on the edge of my bed and glanced over to my two new teammates. "So, considering we're a team now, might be that we want to get to know each other a bit?"

Sun nodded, leaning back on his pillow, head resting against the wall. "Sounds good to me." He glanced over to Cardin. "You in, buddy?"

He nodded, keeping an eye on Sun all the while.

"Right. Well, I guess I'm first then." I said, chewing on the inside of my cheek as I thought for a moment. "My name's Jaune Arc, as I'm sure you know already. I'm nothing special, really. Grew up in the capital with my Aunt and Uncle." I racked my brain for a moment. "I'm your local medic, so if you need something patched up just say."

Sun nodded thoughtfully. "Awesome. Well, then I'm up. Name's Sun Wukong. As you've both seen by now, I'm a monkey Faunus." He swished his tail in the air next to his head for emphasis. "I'm a street rat. Never knew my family, or if I even had one. Taught me to be quick on my feet and quiet when I need to be." He shrugged. "As for me, I'm a marksman. Accurate at up to five hundred yards, give or take a little."

Cardin glanced between the two of us. "Cardin Winchester. Doesn't really matter where I grew up, just that I did. I was an enlisted soldier before this. Had been since I was fifteen." He cracked his neck. "I'm demolitions, if you've got to know. Need something blown up? I'm your guy."

I nodded. "Right, well, that's cool, then. We've got a medic, a marksman, and a demolitions expert. Wonder what it is Qrow specializes in? Think he's a CQC specialist or something like that?"

Sun shook his head. "Nah, I'd think those CQC guys are bigger, like Cardin. They'd also have scars or something. No, I'm gonna guess and say he's heavy weapons. Don't know what it is, but I think he'd be the guy to relish in carrying around a rocket launcher."

Cardin chuckled and shook his head. "An amusing thought, but I doubt it. I figure he's some sort of infiltration guy. Look at him – tall and lanky. Get him out of white and into some black, I imagine he'd vanish into the shadows easy."

Qrow came strolling into the room after around an hour of the three of us talking back and forth.

"Good, good. You're starting to get along." He said, coming to lean back against the wall next to the door.

Cardin turned his attention to Qrow. "What's the deal? We already got a mission?"

Qrow chuckled, nodding. "How'd you know?"

Cardin shrugged. "Only reason you'd need your uniform like that is if you're chatting with someone who's important. Those higherups don't give a damn about us unless they're sending us to fight somewhere."

Qrow nodded along with Cardin's logic. "Someone's a bit jaded, but no less wrong." He glanced over to the two of us who had yet to speak. "Well, I won't beat around it. We're going to Vale."

Vale was the second largest city in all of Atlas' empire. It was also currently under siege by the Grimm. It was an attack that we knew was coming, and had prepared for accordingly. Walls were reinforced, troops were funneled in, and ammo, weapons, and food were stockpiled. If what I'd heard was right, they even sent a few HUNTER teams in.

Despite the preparations, the walls eventually fell. Since then, it's been chaos in the city. The CCT was disrupted by a massive Nevermore that gave its life to destroy Vale's tower. Atlas evacuated civilians by the ship load all the way up until the walls were breached. Even then, its been estimated that another half million are trapped there.

Not to mention the soldiers that are still in there, too. Why Atlas hasn't just scorched the city is beyond me. They've done such things before – and each time they do, Ironwood blames himself for not being able to protect the people. It's evil, it's despicable, but it's necessary.

I frowned. "What's the objective?" That was the million Lien question. Why send a team of Helljumpers in? We were likely going to extracting a person of interest. Maybe one of the high-ranking politicians was stuck in there, or something.

"Right, well, we're going in to- "Qrow started, though was cut off.

A new woman, tall and imposing, appeared in the doorway. She had long white hair, and wore the uniform of the Atlas Intelligence Division. Everything I knew about AID was that they were rather secretive, and allegedly were behind the HUNTER program.

"We're extracting an asset." She said coolly, striding into the middle of the room to command our attention.

Qrow sighed. "Winter, this is my team. Do you particularly need to be here?"

She nodded. "I do. I was assigned to this team by AID, thus I am a member as well." She narrowed her eyes into thin slits at Qrow. "I'm also to ensure you don't say anything you shouldn't."

He shook his head, looking back to us. "Right, well then. Gents, this is Winter. She's been assigned to shadow our team by AID and assist us in our mission."

Cardin nodded. "Right. What exactly is this mission? I know we're extracting an asset. What are we looking for? Description, name, gender."

Winter shook her head. "Classified."

I saw Cardin's eye twitch slightly. "So, let me get this straight. We're being sent into a siege to pull out an asset that has a classified description? And you want us to find them in the middle of a massive battle?"

She inclined her head slightly. "I know what we are looking for, as does Qrow. So long as you do as you're ordered, it won't be an issue."

His eye definitely twitched this time. I understood his anger and frustration – this sounded like a death sentence as it was.

"Get some rest, gentlemen. We move at dawn." Winter said, turning on a heel and striding back out with that same arrogant purpose.

Cardin huffed. "Arrogant bitch." He muttered.

Qrow chuckled. "Watch what you say, kid." He stretched out on his bed, arms behind his head. "You're not wrong, though."

Sun hummed, laying down himself. "Not even a day in, and we're already moving." He laughed quietly. "Guess that's the life that we signed up for.

* * *

**And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the start to Helljumpers.**

**Welcome to the new story starting properly. Strap in, there won't be a lot of down time from here on out. Regardless, welcome. I look forward to seeing what you all think of this story.**

**Next chapter, we see the drop into Vale from Qrow's PoV.**

**Next Chapter - Friday, October 4th**

**Till next time, this is Valres signing off.**


	3. Chapter 2

[Chapter 2]

Beta: Engineer1869

Qrow's PoV

* * *

The drop.

I'd been through this whole process more than a few times in my life – at least more than I can count on both hands. Even before that, I was on the front lines with Vale during the fighting against Atlas. I was no stranger to combat.

I finished the last of my preparations, strapping the two-handed sword I was always outfitted with into the weapons rack built into our small pods, along with the assault rifle. It didn't seem like much, but it would be enough. It hadn't failed me yet, at the least.

On either side of me, the rest of the team were preparing themselves as well.

Winter Schnee, former heiress to a high level Atlas business that provided the government with much of its Lien. She was disowned by her father, or so I'd heard, when she chose to join the military. Anything else I could dig up on her was screened heavily behind multiple layers of redaction and secrecy. She seemed to have no trust for others, and thought she was holier than thou, regardless of the time or place.

Next was Jaune Arc. Kid looked just like his old man did at that age – even had the whole lost and terrified puppy dog look down. I heard after the fact that his whole family was killed in the attack on Ansel. He showed up sometime later in the care of Ironwood and his wife. He tested rather well in terms of Aura reserves and how well he held his composure under pressure, not to mention a knack for the medical field.

Stood next to Jaune, like two peas in a pod, was Sun. There was damn near nothing we knew about him, at least not officially. From what I've seen, he seems a good enough kid. Happy, optimistic, always looking to the future. Kid is a crack shot with any sort of gun based on his testing, showed some affinity for infiltration, too.

Last, but not least, was Cardin. The gruff boy was leaning against his pod, away from the rest of the team with his arms crossed over his chest. He was the son of a noble before Atlas dismantled the nobility completely. After that, he fell off the face of Remnant, resurfacing a few years later as an infantry man. He proved resourceful and creative when approaching problems, earning him an opportunity to join the Helljumpers.

"Listen, man. Don't sweat it, yeah? We're gonna be fine. These things are built to handle it." Sun called out, clapping Jaune on the shoulder. The young boy looked thankful at the least that his new friend was trying.

"That's not what I'm worried about." He said in response. "It's just… I can't help but feel like I'm not ready. Like I'm in way over my head."

"You will be fine." The clipped tone of Winter's voice responded, likely fixing the boy with an icy gaze. "If you weren't cut out for this, you would not have even been accepted into the program."

Cardin nodded. "She's got a point, Jaune. Reservists or not, we've all got the skill to do the job."

I smiled slightly, closing up my pod for the time being and striding over to lean back against the wall in front of the other four. "It's alright to be afraid, you know."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Hell, I can remember my first drop. Scariest moment of my life – thought for sure that I was gonna die. Maybe the pod was gonna break, or I'd be separated from my team." I shrugged. "None of that came to pass. These things are built like tanks. Never had a Grimm take one out of the sky and kill the passenger since they were developed."

Winter coughed, though didn't say anything.

Sun grinned, shooting a glance back over at me. "See, man? It'll be fine. Plus, it's not like we're the only people in there. There'll be soldiers still there, too." He was trying to show some upside, but that only had Jaune grimace and nod.

"Yeah. You're right. We'll be fine." He muttered, not sounding all too sure of that.

"Hotel-138, prepare for launch." An automated voice called out over the loudspeakers in the hangar bay.

I clapped my hands together. "You heard him. Get to your pods, and strap in, kiddos."

Everyone nodded, slipping into their assigned pods without any complaint.

Even if it was only Jaune who outwardly showed his nerves, I'd be surprised if Sun and Cardin didn't have the same sort of deal. They were just putting on a brave face, or at the least I knew I was when I was in their shoes. Winter, on the other hand. Well, I'm not sure she even has emotions other than disdain, disgust, and suffocating confidence.

I slipped into my pod after making sure the fresh faces had themselves situated and weren't completely lost.

I sat down in the simple seat – a seat that never got comfortable, even after dozens of drops. I strapped the harness sort of thing over my chest, and double checked that my weapons were secure. Once satisfied with that, I hit the button to close the hatch, watching it slowly swing down and seal, locking itself in place.

After a few more buttons hit, and switches flipped, the pod seemed to come to life.

The viewport that was made of thick, military grade bullet proof glass, flickered a few times, revealing the face of Winter in the center, flanked on her left by smaller screens displaying Jaune and Cardin, and on her right displaying Sun and myself.

"Right. Listen up, gentlemen. Your pods have already been preprogrammed to send you towards the city center." The voice of Winter crackled out over the pod's speaker system. "In the worst case, and we are all separated, you are to make your way there as quickly as you are able. Am I understood?"

She was talking like she was the commander of this team – almost as though I had been stripped of my rank completely. That ground on my nerves, though I did my best to ignore it, for now.

She was answered by a chorus of yes ma'am from each of us, not that anyone sounded particularly enthused.

Beneath the pods, the hangar doors opened. Below us, behind the thick cloud cover, and drenched in rain, would be the city of Vale.

"Prepare for drop." The artificial voice of the ship's computer called out over the pod's speakers.

Nobody responded. The jovial Sun was quiet, nerves starting to appear on his face. Jaune looked afraid, though kept his mouth shut and did his best to maintain his composure. Winter was completely unphased. And Cardin, well, he seemed to almost have a slight smile on his lips.

Suddenly, the pod shook, and we went into a brief free fall.

Then, the engines kicked in, and the whole contraption started to shake as we rapidly hurtled towards the ground, piercing through the cloud cover.

When we came out the other side, what we saw wasn't inspiring.

We knew there was a massive storm over Vale – that was why we chose to drop now, it meant the carrier wouldn't be harassed by Grimm if we kept over the cloud cover. But that didn't do anything to help the scene we were presented with.

The city was generally cloaked in shadow, the only light being occasional flashes of lightning, and the burning fires that raged across the once impressive metropolis. Buildings that had once stood tall had collapsed, causing untold damage to the area around them, potentially killing hundreds.

There was a flash of lightning, with thunder nipping at its heels hardly a moment later. Winter's screen flickered out on the display, and where I had been able to see four streaks of orange from the engines of other pods, I now only saw three.

"What…" The voice of Jaune asked, clearly thinking something was wrong.

I didn't get a chance to respond, as my pod violently shook as something impacted it. The viewscreen that let me see out into Vale was blocked by complete darkness. A Grimm.

The pod shook again, and then another time. It happened about four or five more times before the lights and power in the pod went off.

I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Alright, Qrow. You've got this. You've been in worse situations than this, and you're still here.

My viewport was still blocked by whatever Grimm had thrown itself at the pod still in the air. I didn't know how close I was to landing.

I couldn't do anything until I had landed. Without onboard systems to guide me, or react in any way, I was blind.

Here's hoping that the newbies made it out unscathed, at least. I thought, bracing myself for impact.

It never got easier – especially not when the pod lost power. Every time you went hurtling into the ground at high speeds, you were jostled, rattled, and came out with a few bruises. That was lessened, usually, by some of the pod's systems that I didn't understand completely.

Without them, a bumpy ride was about to become a painful one.

I felt the pod slam into the ground, and strained against my harness as momentum tried to throw me forward with it.

It didn't stop there, though. I felt another impact, once again rattling me significantly.

I groaned, shaking my head. Now, I could see out of the viewport.

The pod seemed to have stopped, and I was in the middle of a street, or a sidewalk. It was hard to say.

I sighed, fiddling with the clasp that held my harness together until it eventually came undone. Before opening the pod door, I drew the pistol that I had holstered on my hip. Ambush me once, fine. Ambush me a second time and I'm just plain stupid.

The latch released, and the pod hissed slightly as the door started to open.

I wasted no time in throwing myself out of the now vulnerable drop pod, scanning my surroundings as best I could, keeping the pistol at the ready.

Nothing.

There were ruined cars, even a few human corpses, but no sign of the Grimm. Not currently, at least.

Content that I wasn't going to get jumped instantly upon landing, I went back into the pod and retrieved my gear.

Armed now, with my trusty assault rifle, two handed sword, and a pack of supplies to get me through a couple weeks, I made my way deeper into the city.

"Feet first into Hell." I muttered quietly.

* * *

**That, ladies and gentlemen, is the drop covered and done.**

**Like I said, there won't be a whole lot of down time in this story, and it's only going to get faster from here.**

**Next chapter, we see how well Cardin handles being cut off and alone. **

**Next Chapter - Monday, October 7th**

**Till next time, this is Valres signing off. **


	4. Chapter 3

[Chapter 3]

Beta: Engineer1869

Cardin's PoV

* * *

**Fifteen Minutes Post Drop**

"'Don't worry about it.' He says. 'It'll be fine, not like the Grimm can take these things out of the sky.' He says… Fuckin' piece of shit…" I muttered, more or less to myself as I got situated with my surroundings and what was going on, really.

First, it had been a freak accident. The bitch from AID got her pod hit by lightning, and down she goes like a rock. Fine, not good, but the tech hadn't failed when we needed it. Then, it had been our commander to go down, too.

A whole host of Grimm descended down onto his pod, almost like they knew and were waiting for us. It wasn't long after he went down that we all followed suit. Jaune, predictably, was terrified before the comms went down, and the pod went dark.

Of all our squadron, I'm pretty sure that mine was the only one that kept functioning the whole way down.

I had landed down on what was once a highway connecting one part of the city to another. Old cars, some of which blown up, and almost all of which had been looted for supplies long before I arrived, were backed up in gridlock.

I checked my weapons – nothing was broken, or out of place. The pod had done its job and kept me, and all my gear uninjured from the crash.

Seeing that I was demolitions, they had armed me with enough explosives to level half this city, if I used them right. Along with a grenade launcher, heavy armor, a shot gun, and a morning star for good measure. Always had mixed feelings about using melee weapons, resorting to them always meant you were knees deep in shit, but having them was essential to getting out. Plus I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoying beaning the Grimm in their ugly faces.

Rain was pouring down in heavy sheets all around me as I shouldered through the desolate highway. Lightning thundered and cracked overhead, briefly illuminating the city.

God, it had been years since I set foot in this place. I told myself that I wouldn't come back – there was nothing more for me here. Yet, here I was. Walking through the streets and armed to the teeth. Funny, how life does that.

I heard the crack of gunfire, and not just one gun, either. It sounded like a whole fireteam – one that probably was up to their ears in Grimm, if the constant gunfire was anything to go by. Several explosions punctuated that, drowning out the gunfire briefly.

Without thinking much of it, I vaulted over the railing of the highway I had been pushing through. The drop, while not insignificant at ten feet, wasn't anything I couldn't handle, thanks to my Aura. Then again, I'll be feeling that strain for the next day or two at the least.

As soon as I landed, I broke into a sprint in the direction of the gunfire.

I broke around a corner, and was presented with quite the firefight going on. A large convoy of soldiers, many of whom looked to be injured in some way or another, was desperately trying to fight back a horde of Grimm that they couldn't stop in their state.

I felt a wry grin spread over my lips as I pulled the grenade launcher off my back. "Looks like you could use some help." I called out to the soldiers. Some of them cheered – happy to see the distinctive gray uniform of the Helljumpers standing out compared to their plain brown.

I fired off several grenades in quick order thanks to the revolving chambers that had been built into this particular model. As soon as the explosives made contact with the ground, or the Grimm, they erupted into a pillar of flame and fire, rupturing out in a significant area around them. The fire tore through the Grimm's black flesh like it was tissue paper.

That said, though, I didn't kill all of the Grimm. I had just pissed them off.

Commanding this particular horde seemed to be an Ursa Major – a hulking bear like creature that, unlike many of its companions, had pearly white bone plating to cover parts of its body. It growled, turning to face me before breaking into a charge.

I grinned, ticking my grenade launcher over to the next barrel and firing one of the explosives straight into the creature's face. A blow that's lethal to almost any Grimm.

The smoke and flames died down, and this creature, still pissed as hell, was barreling towards me.

I frowned, and reacted on instinct and training.

I dove off to one side, not bothering to try and keep track of the grenade launcher at the moment. I managed to avoid the head on charge from the massive Grimm, watching as it skidded and turned, huffing at me.

I drew my shotgun off my back and started unloading the buckshot shells into the creature's front.

An Ursa Major wasn't something to be trifled with – even if it wasn't quite as tanky and damage resistant as this one, they were more than capable of ripping through half a fire team before it would be killed.

After I had unloaded four shells into the creature, it howled, clearly in pain, and collapsed down to the ground. Slowly, its body began to dissipate into a black smoke.

While I had been fighting off the Ursa, the soldiers had been picking off the remaining Grimm one by one. A job made significantly easier thanks to the Paladin they had just secured.

I looked back over the convoy. Even with my help, and the Paladin, things weren't looking good. Bodies were all over the place, fresh and still warm. Several soldiers had wounds that I just wasn't knowledgeable enough to take care of.

Even with all my experience, seeing scenes like this never got easier.

I was clapped on the shoulder by a massive paw of a hand, getting me to look back. Standing just behind me was a man a fair bit bigger than me, even with all the armor on. He had short cut black hair, and a well-maintained beard covering most of his jaw. His lips were curled into a grin.

"Thanks for the help, Helljumper." He said, letting his hand fall back to his side.

I nodded, stowing my shotgun, scanning the area for my dropped grenade launcher, "Any time, chief."

He nodded, looking back over his convoy of soldiers. "Where's the rest of your team?"

"Hell if I know. We got separated during the drop." I responded quickly, finding my dropped weapon.

"That so? No way to contact them?"

I shook my head, reloading the grenade launcher. "Not without the CCT functioning."

He nodded. "Well, my boys and I are returning to base after a supply run." He swept his hand across the convoy where his soldiers were going about moving bodies and laying the fallen to some semblance of rest. "We'd all feel a whole lot safer with a Helljumper along for the ride."

He wanted me to tag along with his convoy? Well, I'd be headed for a military base, presumably. A secure location, and probably somewhere with a small broadcast tower, if I'm lucky. Maybe even where the others went. I nodded. "Right. I'll join up, for a little while."

The bear of a man grinned, nodding. "Welcome aboard, Helljumper. I'm Sergeant Major Xiong, though most just call me Junior."

I nodded, strapping my grenade launcher back where it belonged on my back. "Cardin," I said simply.

It wasn't much, but it was a start, at the least. A lead to a more secure position, and somewhere for me to make my next decision from.

* * *

**Another day, another Chapter for Helljumper.**

**Like I said, we're getting thrown right into the middle of things, so it's going to be one hell of a ride.**

**At the least Cardin isn't alone - he's got Junior to back him up, so that's fantastic. Gotta love the big man.**

**Next chapter, we see from Sun's PoV and his experience post drop.**

**Next Chapter - Friday, October 11th**

**Till next time, this is Valres signing off.**


End file.
